Fritz vs Royer Picks, Predictions & Best Odds for Australian Open (Jan 19)

• Taylor Fritz faces a dangerous first-round opponent in Valentin Royer on Monday night
• Royer reached a career-high ranking of #57 at the end of last season but is 0-4 in 2026
• See the Fritz vs Royer picks, predictions, and best odds for Jan 19

Second-ranked American and world #9 Taylor Fritz faces a dangerous first-round opponent at the 2026 Australian Open on Monday night – or Tuesday morning, depending on your time zone. Fritz will meet 24-year-old Frechman Valentin Royer (world #58), who rose from 197th in the world to 57th over the span of the 2025 season.

Fritz and Royer are tentatively scheduled to start at 10:00 pm PT/1:00 am ET, which is 4pm local time at Melbourne Park.

Neither is in form heading into the Australian Open, but Fritz – who has the sixth-shortest price to win the entire tournament in the Australian Open odds – remains a massive betting favorite to advance.

Fritz vs Royer Odds

The best moneyline bettors can currently find on Taylor Fritz is a hyper-short -770 at BetMGM, which is well within unbettable range. The longest odds on a Royer victory are +610 at FanDuel.

The default game spread is Fritz -6.5. Caesars has the best price on Fritz covering (+110) while DraftKings has the best price on Royer staying within seven games (-135).

Royer is a slight favorite to win at least one set, priced at -138 or shorter. The best odds on Fritz winning in straight sets are +100 at DraftKings.

Fritz vs Royer H2H Stats

Fritz dwarfs Royer in basically every statistical category imaginable. He has a much better serve and is nearly 90 spots ahead of the Frenchman in the ELO ratings at Tennis Abstract.

Royer has lost five straight matches, overall, and has yet to taste victory in 2026. The first three of those were respectable three-set defeats against quality hard-court competition: #53 Sebastian Korda (4-6, 6-1, 6-4), #14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (4-6, 6-1, 6-4), and #27 Cam Norrie (6-4, 6-7², 6-3).

But the last two were straight-sets losses to guys who rank outside of the top 60 and are both much better on clay: #62 Tomas Martin Etcheverry (6-4, 7-5) and #68 Francisco Comesana (6-4, 6-4). Royer was a -150 favorite to beat the latter in Auckland last week but couldn’t generate a single breakpoint opportunity against the Argentine.

Fritz started his 2026 campaign by going 1-3 at the United Cup while donning the stars and stripes. His only win came against Jaume Munar and required three sets and a pair of tiebreakers which went the American’s way (7-6⁴, 3-6, 7-6⁶). Fritz only had two break chances the entire match against the Spaniard, who only ranks 50th in ATP serve rating.

Fritz opened the United Cup with a nearly-incomprehensible hard-court loss to #36 Sebastian Baez (4-6, 7-5, 6-4). Fritz went into that match 5-0 against Baez, winning all ten sets (eight on hardcourts). Fritz was a -1250 favorites against Baez, who went 24-52 on hardcourts from 2021 to 2025.

Fritz also lost to a past-his-prime #35 Stefano Tsitsipas (6-4, 7-5) and # Hubert Hurkacz (7-6¹, 7-6²) at the United Cup, forcing just four break chances across the two matches and losing all four.

Fritz vs Royer Picks

• Royer to win a set (-138 at bet365)
• Over 34.5 games (-120 at Caesars)

Royer couldn’t parlay his success at the 2025 Hangzhou Open – where he beat #56 Aleksandar Kovacevic, #15 Andrey Rublev, #29 Lerner Tien, and #37 Corentin Moutet before losing to #10 Alexander Bublik in the final – into sustained success. But he has at least been a tough out in the interim, his last two setbacks notwithstanding.

Fritz looked horribly off at the United Cup and has never had a ton of success in Melbourne. His best result was a QF appearance in 2024. He was bounced in the third round last year by aging Gael Monfils.

Fritz has proven temperamental in the past and prone to both good and bad runs. I don’t see him flipping a switch now that it’s Grand Slam time and getting back to the top-five form he showed in 2025. I’m not prepared to take Royer to win, but given Fritz’s trouble generating break points over the last two weeks, I love the over on games and Royer to nick at least one set.

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